Education Week Reporter Sarah Schwartz, along with other contributors, explores the latest news, ideas, and resources for teacher leaders. Coverage runs the gamut from the inspirational to the infuriating, from practical classroom tips to raging policy debates.

The national average public school teacher salary for 2016-17 was $59,660, according to data from the National Education Association. (The NEA estimated that the average salary for the 2017-18 school year is $60,483.) But this varies widely between states.

And teachers who are not satisfied with their paychecks are more likely to say their enthusiasm is waning, they'd consider leaving the profession for a higher-paying job, and the stress and disappointments of teaching "aren't really worth it."

After the spate of widescale teacher walkouts that protested low wages, the public is more in favor of raising teacher pay. A nationally representative survey from the journal Education Next found that nearly half of those provided with information on average teacher salaries in their state said the pay should increase. That's 13 percent higher than last year, and the largest change in opinion that EdNext saw on any single policy from last year.

"I feel like there's a narrative that has been created about public schools in our country that is not helpful," said Joshua Starr, the CEO of PDK International. "We can't have it both ways. You can't say, 'Yeah, education is great, but I don't want my kid to become a teacher.' ... It's problematic for our country."

Chart #5: Teachers' Pension Debt Is a Growing National Crisis

Teachers' pension debt today tops out nationally at more than $516 billion, and some states project they won't have enough money within the next decade to pay teachers what they're owed at retirement.

But pension reform is a politically volatile issue: Just look at Kentucky, where a reform bill sparked teacher walkouts and protests (and was struck down by the state's high court in December). Stay tuned to see how—or if—states tackle their pension crises in 2019.

After the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., in which 17 people were killed, President Donald Trump suggested arming about 20 percent of the nation's teachers. He also suggested that educators who agree to carry should get bonuses.

It was a controversial debate that was widely unpopular among teachers. (It's worth noting that this isn't purely hypothetical: In certain places, teachers who have received training are allowed to carry guns at school.)

"This suggests that focusing on [teacher effectiveness] alone is not likely to be the potent sort of intervention that really moves the needle on student outcomes," said Brian Stetcher, the lead author of the report.

Chart #10: Teachers Are Not Immune to Sexual Harassment and Assault in the Workplace

Even though the education field is dominated by women, teachers told Education Week stories of permissive school cultures where abusers are not punished and about the threat of power differentials between novice teachers and their superiors.

"What has struck me most in my reporting, and what I found the most heartbreaking, was how desperately some teachers we spoke with wanted to share their stories because they wanted to make their workplaces safer and their professions better," reporter Arianna Prothero wrote. "But they weren't convinced that their small stand would ultimately make a difference. And in weighing that against the risk to their livelihoods, they decided to remain silent. I can't tell you their names or their stories. All I can tell you is that they exist, and they are surviving."

Categories:

Tags:

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.